Bump stocks ban earns bipartisan support

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of lawmakers is preparing legislation to ban the manufacture, sale, and use of “bump stocks,” inexpensive devices that increase the firing rate of semi-automatic rifles. On Thursday, Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) announced they were leading the charge in the House of Representatives to draft and pass legislation that would ban dangerous gun modifications. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a similar bill in the Senate earlier this week. “For the first time in decades, there is growing bipartisan consensus for firearm reform, a polarizing issue that has deeply divided Republicans and Democrats,” Curbelo said in a statement. Curbelo and Moulton plan to unveil legislation in the coming days and are asking lawmakers to co-sponsor the bill with a member of the opposite party. Fully automatic weapons have been illegal in the United States for more than 30 years, but bump stocks have been widely accessible since 2010. Momentum to ban the devices picked up after police found bump stocks in the hotel room of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more Sunday night. The National Rifle Association said Thursday the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives should review whether bump stocks comply with federal law. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Thursday that President Donald Trump welcomed the conversation on a bump stocks ban, but she stressed he still supports the Second Amendment.